Off-Grid Living and Meditation: A Small Practice That Keeps Things Grounded
Bron Yr Aur, my home, sits among forests and hills. It is powered by the weather and surrounded by growing food and open sky. In many ways, it has become the beating heart of our global micronation, a place rooted in land, seasons, and simpler living.
Living off-grid brings its own rhythms, and meditation has become one of the simplest ways I stay grounded within them. From the outside, it might seem like a complete escape from the modern world. But the reality is more complicated.
Even as I live off-grid as an artist, ecologist, and community builder, I am still largely immersed in the digital world. Messages, planning, research, publishing, and coordination span continents. Building a micronation today requires screens, a WiFi signal, and constant communication. Like almost everyone else, I rely on it.
So how do you build something centred on wellbeing and a return to basics while spending so much time online? For me, the anchor is meditation.
Not as a lofty spiritual pursuit, but as a practical daily reset, a way to step out of the noise and mental overload. I first began meditating, or at least doing something that focused my mind outside the usual rush of everyday life, back in 1988. Since then, it has remained a quiet thread running through everything, sometimes strong, sometimes faded, but always there to return to.
Living Off Grid in a Digital World
There was a period when I had lapsed for several years, and I found it surprisingly hard to restart. I went looking for something simple, not a complex system, just a kind of handrail to help me back into the habit. That’s when I discovered the free app One Giant Mind.
It taught a very straightforward mantra-based technique that felt accessible rather than intimidating. After learning the method, I gradually stopped using the app itself, which, in a way, is ideal. It is actually nice not to need a phone at all. But it gave me a simple approach that I have continued to use ever since discovering it a few years ago.
Over time, I have built up to about 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes at night as an ideal rhythm. But it is not about perfection. Some days are busy, disrupted, or simply human, and then five minutes at each end of the day is enough.
It is a bit like drinking water. Once you are used to it, you feel the benefit immediately, yet like many of us, I still sometimes realise I have not had as much as I should.
Why Meditation Matters in Daily Life
One thing I have learned is that many people switch off the moment they hear the word meditation. It can sound intimidating, overly spiritual, religious, or somehow “not for me”. There can even be a sense that it belongs to a particular path, personality type, or elite group of people. It really does not, and you do not have to wear a peculiar hat or special beads either. Disclaimer: I do sometimes wear peculiar hats and beads, but it is not obligatory.
Meditation does not have to be linked to any religion, belief system, or life journey. It is not about performance or status. At its simplest, it is just a practical way to give your mind a rest. Modern research, particularly on internal mantra-based techniques, shows significant benefits for stress reduction, focus, sleep, and overall well-being. And unlike many wellness trends, it does not require equipment, subscriptions, or spending money. It travels with you, takes up no space, and works almost anywhere.
This small meditation practice helps me stay steady within the realities of off-grid living.
Building a Grounded Micronation
As we build the micronation together, the goal is not endless expansion or becoming a perpetual growth machine. We are not trying to create another ever-growing capitalist enterprise. Over the next 12 months, the focus is on forming a stable base of citizens who genuinely want to be part of this experiment in wellbeing, community, and grounded living. Once that foundation is in place, the emphasis shifts.
Less energy poured into constant social media output and more into real connections. More communication with citizens themselves rather than broadcasting into the void. More physical practice, shared learning, workshops, courses, and retreats. Online spaces will become quieter and more meaningful, places for art, music, poetry, and thoughtful exchange rather than noise and urgency. In other words, moving from building to living.
In time, we will also create a dedicated citizens resource space where members can simply click and access short meditation audios, guided sessions, and immersive soundscapes, including recordings from forests, hills, the ocean, and other natural environments. Simple tools to help you pause wherever you are.
Later this year, when the Bron Yr Aur Frequency herbal elixir is ready, it will be accompanied by an optional audio journey and personalised mantra for those who wish to explore that experience more deeply. Founding citizens will receive this as part of their membership at no extra cost. These are gentle ideas taking shape rather than fixed plans.
A Simple Way to Begin
If you are curious, you might try something very simple:
That is enough to begin.
In busy, mind-heavy times, it may be one of the simplest ways to stay steady wherever you are. Sometimes the most practical thing we can do to build a better future is simply to pause, breathe, and begin again.
Please drop us a message if you do try the One Giant Mind app and let us know how you got on, or if you have any other suggestions for citizens to explore. I am not affiliated with One Giant Mind, although I have seriously considered completing their training, which would mean I could offer meditation in person or at a distance in the future. That may be some years yet!